Gov. Peter Shumlin, D-Vt., toured the towns of Chester and Andover, Vermont Wednesday, two days after severe flooding hit parts of the Windsor County communities. Several homes suffered major damage from raging flood waters, and public infrastructure in isolated spots along Route 11 also took big hits.

"It's mind-boggling to me," said Rich Defoe, who owns a house in Chester where his son lives. "I’m actually, I would say, in shock."

Three and half inches of rain fell, according to the National Weather Service, maybe more in isolated spots. All that water overwhelmed streams, rivers, and culverts Monday afternoon, forcing temporary road closures. The fast-moving torrents also led to least one emergency evacuation of an elderly woman, whose home on Route 11 was surrounded by water.

The floods receded as quickly as they rose, leaving piles of silt outside Defoe's place and thick muck inside. He, his son, and a friend were ripping up the floors Wednesday, to mitigate the risk of mold to the floors and walls, they said.

In the yard, new ravines formed, and the racing water tore an attached shed from the home and stole the contents inside. "It ripped that thing off like it was nothing," Defoe observed, pointing to the roof of the shed that now sits on the other side of the yard.

All this happened to a man who escaped the 2011 tornado in Monson, Massachusetts with only very minor damage to his primary residence there. That twister destroyed neighbors' properties. "Until it happens to yourself, you really have no clue of really what it's like," Defoe said.

Gov. Shumlin noted in his tour of the region that the towns of Chester and Andover were also hammered in Tropical Storm Irene three years ago. He said it appears well-built infrastructure repairs following the August 2011 disaster helped reduce the impact of this week's flooding.

Shumlin said since Irene, smoother permitting between Vermont's natural resources and transportation agencies have helped speed storm repairs when they come up. He said his administration wants to prepare for the impact of more severe storms due to climate change. "We've got a streamlined process," he told New England Cable News. "We know how to rebuild. And the trick is rebuild in ways that expect four, five, or six inches of rain to fall-- not in a hundred years but two or three years or two or three months."

Rich Defoe said he and his son do not have flood insurance, calling the cost "prohibitive." But Defoe said they are determined to get their unfortunately-named River Haus back in shape as best they can. "All I know is this: no one got hurt," Defoe told NECN. "It could've been worse."

The big question now is will communities tally at least $1-million in damage to public infrastructure? Meeting that threshold qualifies the state for disaster aid from the federal government. Gov. Shumlin said towns and regional transportation officials are looking into that, but he declined to speculate if this storm event would meet the threshold.

A contractor for the Vermont Agency of Transportation was busy Wednesday moving huge boulders into place to rebuild part of Route 11 in Andover that crumbled under the force of the water. VTrans expects that section to be fully open to two lanes of travel this weekend.